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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

diy painted beach bag

I recently picked up a cute enough, yet somewhat boring beach bag from Goodwill. It was originally from Target, still new with tags. I kept looking at it, trying to figure out what to do with it, and not wanting to commit much time to transforming it. I finally realized I could quickly paint it using a little triangle template/stencil. Fun and graphic! If you'd like your own fun painted beach bag, you'll need:

First you'll need to draw a triangle in the wax paper. I wasn't very exact with this, but if you're a math person, go ahead and measure exactly (you control freak).

Cut it out. I used an exacto knife on a cutting mat.

Make the same amount of stencils as your paint colors. I used 4 colors, so I made 4 different triangle stencils. Now for the fun part- the painting! Start your stencil anywhere on the bag. I did not have a plan, but a haphazard pattern emerged anyway.

Holding your stencil down firmly with one hand, start your painting! I patted my brush over the stencil instead of brushing it across. This helps keep it from bleeding out.

Ta-da! Your first triangle! It's exciting, no? I had a helper who was very excited, so I guess I was feeding off of his energy. He also did his own painting while I worked.

Here is my work in progress and my mini-Matisse's work, too.

You can be as precise or as random as you'd like with your stencil. Have fun, it's just a beach bag! But a pretty beach bag once you're finished.

I like how this turned out so much, I think this will be my go-to tote for the summer, not *just* my beach bag! Happy painting, friends.